Patriots, Giants wrap up preseason in Foxboro
Patriots, Giants wrap up preseason in Foxboro
After taking a hard hit from Redskins tackle Albert Haynesworth in Week 3 of the preseason, Tom Brady tested his sore shoulder this week and appears to be fine for the start of the regular season in a week. Brady is unlikely to play in Thursday's final preseason contest against the Giants, giving Patriots coach Bill Belichick ample opportunity to make a decision on Brady's backup should Tom Terrific miss time this season.
New England Patriots fans, you can breathe a little more easily. For now.
Three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady is doing just fine, thank you very much. Brady was flattened by Washington Redskins tackle Albert Haynesworth (6-foot-6, 350 pounds) and left last Friday’s Week 3 exhibition matchup with a sore right shoulder. But during Tuesday’s practice, Brady appeared fit as a fiddle, throwing passes with aplomb and easing any concern about whether he’d be ready for the regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
But that’s two weeks from now. On Thursday, the Patriots are hosting the New York Giants to wrap up the preseason, and it’s unlikely Brady will play much if at all. Coach Bill Belichick says he’ll use Week 4 to evaluate his reserves, including QBs Andrew Walter and Brian Hoyer. They’re the last two backups on the staff after the Pats cut Kevin O’Connell, last year’s No. 2 behind Matt Cassel (now with the Kansas City Chiefs).
Walter we know plenty about. He was a third-round pick in 2005 out of Arizona State and made eight starts for the desperate Oakland Raiders in 2006. That didn’t turn out so well: three touchdown passes, 13 interceptions, and a 55.8 passer rating. Before we throw Walter under the bus, this was on a Raiders team with by far the worst pass protection in the NFL. The Raiders allowed 72 sacks that season, 46 of them against Walter. The Pats allowed 48 sacks last year in a relatively poor showing for them.
Hoyer is more of an enigma at this level. He went undrafted out of Michigan State, where he started the past two seasons and was an honorable mention for the All-Big Ten squad both times. His 2007 season was particularly good (20 TDs, nine INTs), but Hoyer didn’t do all that much in 2008 (nine TDs, nine INTs) and was overshadowed by RB Javon Ringer (1,637 rushing yards, 22 rushing TDs).
Walter and Hoyer will get their reps on Thursday, and while coach Belichick is 22-18 in the preseason with New England, his reserves have been outscored 33-19 after three games in 2009. That leaves the Patriots as 3-point home dogs versus the Giants with a total of 36. The betting odds at the open had New England priced at +2.5 at most books.
There hasn’t been much drama at the Big Blue training camp – other than DL Osi Umenyiora, who was back at practice Tuesday after an internal dispute with new defensive co-ordinator Bill Sheridan, who’s replacing Steve Spagnuolo (now the head coach of the St. Louis Rams). Sherdian is the most important new face in camp for a team that has enjoyed very little roster turnover the past two seasons. The other notable is rookie WR and first-round pick Hakeem Nicks from North Carolina, who has enjoyed an impressive camp and is moving up the depth chart for a Giants team that needs a few good men at wideout sans Plaxico Burress. Both Sinorice Moss and Super Bowl hero David Tyree are in danger of getting cut Saturday.
Reports from the Big Apple on Tuesday had Tyree missing Thursday’s preseason finale with a hamstring injury. Starting left tackle David Diehl has a sore kneecap and will also sit out the contest, leaving either second-round draft pick William Beatty (Connecticut) or backup right guard Kevin Boothe (Cornell) to protect Eli Manning’s blind side against the Patriots. This could be a bigger problem for the Giants in the second half. Coach Tom Coughlin plans to use this game as a competition between Andre Woodson and Rhett Bomar for the No. 3 QB job, and while the Giants have a solid starting offensive line (28 sacks allowed last year), the reserves are untested and will be that much more vulnerable with Diehl out of the equation.
The Giants and Patriots have tangled many times in the preseason. New York (-2.5) won 19-14 last year at Giants Stadium, but it was the Pats (-3) prevailing 27-20 at Gillette Stadium in 2007.
After taking a hard hit from Redskins tackle Albert Haynesworth in Week 3 of the preseason, Tom Brady tested his sore shoulder this week and appears to be fine for the start of the regular season in a week. Brady is unlikely to play in Thursday's final preseason contest against the Giants, giving Patriots coach Bill Belichick ample opportunity to make a decision on Brady's backup should Tom Terrific miss time this season.
New England Patriots fans, you can breathe a little more easily. For now.
Three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady is doing just fine, thank you very much. Brady was flattened by Washington Redskins tackle Albert Haynesworth (6-foot-6, 350 pounds) and left last Friday’s Week 3 exhibition matchup with a sore right shoulder. But during Tuesday’s practice, Brady appeared fit as a fiddle, throwing passes with aplomb and easing any concern about whether he’d be ready for the regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
But that’s two weeks from now. On Thursday, the Patriots are hosting the New York Giants to wrap up the preseason, and it’s unlikely Brady will play much if at all. Coach Bill Belichick says he’ll use Week 4 to evaluate his reserves, including QBs Andrew Walter and Brian Hoyer. They’re the last two backups on the staff after the Pats cut Kevin O’Connell, last year’s No. 2 behind Matt Cassel (now with the Kansas City Chiefs).
Walter we know plenty about. He was a third-round pick in 2005 out of Arizona State and made eight starts for the desperate Oakland Raiders in 2006. That didn’t turn out so well: three touchdown passes, 13 interceptions, and a 55.8 passer rating. Before we throw Walter under the bus, this was on a Raiders team with by far the worst pass protection in the NFL. The Raiders allowed 72 sacks that season, 46 of them against Walter. The Pats allowed 48 sacks last year in a relatively poor showing for them.
Hoyer is more of an enigma at this level. He went undrafted out of Michigan State, where he started the past two seasons and was an honorable mention for the All-Big Ten squad both times. His 2007 season was particularly good (20 TDs, nine INTs), but Hoyer didn’t do all that much in 2008 (nine TDs, nine INTs) and was overshadowed by RB Javon Ringer (1,637 rushing yards, 22 rushing TDs).
Walter and Hoyer will get their reps on Thursday, and while coach Belichick is 22-18 in the preseason with New England, his reserves have been outscored 33-19 after three games in 2009. That leaves the Patriots as 3-point home dogs versus the Giants with a total of 36. The betting odds at the open had New England priced at +2.5 at most books.
There hasn’t been much drama at the Big Blue training camp – other than DL Osi Umenyiora, who was back at practice Tuesday after an internal dispute with new defensive co-ordinator Bill Sheridan, who’s replacing Steve Spagnuolo (now the head coach of the St. Louis Rams). Sherdian is the most important new face in camp for a team that has enjoyed very little roster turnover the past two seasons. The other notable is rookie WR and first-round pick Hakeem Nicks from North Carolina, who has enjoyed an impressive camp and is moving up the depth chart for a Giants team that needs a few good men at wideout sans Plaxico Burress. Both Sinorice Moss and Super Bowl hero David Tyree are in danger of getting cut Saturday.
Reports from the Big Apple on Tuesday had Tyree missing Thursday’s preseason finale with a hamstring injury. Starting left tackle David Diehl has a sore kneecap and will also sit out the contest, leaving either second-round draft pick William Beatty (Connecticut) or backup right guard Kevin Boothe (Cornell) to protect Eli Manning’s blind side against the Patriots. This could be a bigger problem for the Giants in the second half. Coach Tom Coughlin plans to use this game as a competition between Andre Woodson and Rhett Bomar for the No. 3 QB job, and while the Giants have a solid starting offensive line (28 sacks allowed last year), the reserves are untested and will be that much more vulnerable with Diehl out of the equation.
The Giants and Patriots have tangled many times in the preseason. New York (-2.5) won 19-14 last year at Giants Stadium, but it was the Pats (-3) prevailing 27-20 at Gillette Stadium in 2007.